Apparatus for rapid and thorough edge cleaning of hard surfaces

ABSTRACT

The present invention is related to a hard surface edge cleaning apparatus, which comprises a cleaning head, a vacuum tube, a pressured cleaning solution supply line, a handle, and a pressure control valve. The cleaning head comprises a vacuum chamber having a bottom opening to engage with a hard surface to be cleaned, a front and rear wall, and two sidewalls, a wet-blast nozzle, and a vacuum port on the rear wall attached to the vacuum tube. The cleaning head further comprises a brush attached to the bottom opening to provide additional agitation for efficient edge cleaning.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/716,818 filed Sep. 13, 2005.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is related to a hard surface edge cleaning apparatus. Due to trends in the flooring and counter-top industry, hard surface installations of title, ground and nature stones have drastically increased over the past 10 years. This has also resulted in the need to be able to professionally clean these types of surfaces quickly and thoroughly. When cleaning these surfaces, it is necessary to clean all exposed and open areas of the hard surfaces. In the past, while machine cleaning of the central portions of the surfaces, particularly floors, could be effectively accomplished, in order to clean the edges properly one had to perform all the edge and detail works by hand. This is very time and labor intensive process. It usually requires as much time as cleaning the central areas. There is therefore a definite need for the development of tools to reduce that edge cleaning time significantly and produce much better results.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a hard surface edge cleaning apparatus, which comprises a cleaning head and a vacuum tube. In one aspect, the vacuum tube is rigid and functions as a wand. In another aspect, the hard surface edge cleaning apparatus has a pressured line for supplying cleaning solution under a pressure. In yet another aspect, the hard surface edge cleaning apparatus further comprises a handle assembly for ease of operation. The handle assembly includes a handle and a mounting assembly. In yet another aspect, the hard surface edge cleaning apparatus also includes a pressure control valve for regulating the pressure of the sprayed cleaning solution from wet-blast nozzles described herein below. In still another aspect, the hard surface edge cleaning apparatus also includes a mounting bracket to securing a wet-blast nozzle or a nozzle assembly described below.

In one embodiment, the cleaning head comprises a vacuum chamber with a front and rear wall, two sidewalls, and a bottom opening to be engaged with a hard surface to be cleaned; one or more wet-blast nozzles each having an inlet and outlet; and a vacuum port on the rear wall. The wet-blast nozzles are attached to the vacuum chamber in such position that the outlets of the nozzles are inside the vacuum chamber and direct toward the bottom opening and the combined sprayed pattern of the nozzles essentially covers the whole area of the bottom opening for efficient hard surface cleaning. The cleaning head may also include a manifold in between the nozzles and the cleaning solution supply line to produce evenly sprayed pattern, especially when there are two or more nozzles in the vacuum chamber. To provide an efficient edge cleaning of hard surfaces, the two sidewalls are straight to provide optimal contact between the sprayed cleaning solution and the edges of the hard surface. Typically, the width of each sidewall is no greater than about ½, about ⅓, about ¼, about ⅕, about ⅙, about 1/7, about ⅛, about 1/9 or about 1/10 inches, corresponding to about 12.7, about 8.5, about 6.4, about 5.1, about 4.2, about 3.6, about 3.2, about 2.8, about 2.5 mm.

In another embodiment, the cleaning head further comprises a sealing gasket, which is attached to the periphery of the bottom opening via the front and rear walls and two sidewalls, to provide a sealing between the bottom opening of the vacuum chamber and the hard surface. Alternatively, a brush may be used in the place of some portions of sealing gasket to provide agitation of the hard surface needed for additional cleaning capabilities. For edge cleaning, the sealing gasket or the brush generally has a range of widths as described hereinabove for the sidewalls.

In yet another embodiment, the cleaning head further comprises an intermediate wall substantially parallel to the rear wall. The intermediate wall is mounted inside the vacuum chamber in front of the vacuum with a space between the intermediate wall and the rear wall. The space is at least sufficient enough to allow used cleaning solution and soil and dirt extracted from the hard surface to pass through. The space may be no less than about 1 mm, about 5 mm, about 1 cm, about 2 cm, about 3 cm, about 4 cm, or about 5 cm. Alternatively, the cleaning head may comprise an inner housing having a front and rear wall, two side walls, and a bottom opening. The inner housing also has a matched opening for the attachment of the wet-blast nozzles. The inner housing is mounted inside of the vacuum chamber. Each wall of the inner housing is substantially parallel to the corresponding wall of the vacuum chamber. However, there is a space between the rear walls of the inner housing and the vacuum chamber. The size of the space is the same as described hereinabove for the intermediate wall.

Other aspects of the present invention are described throughout the specification.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

As used in this disclosure, the singular forms “a”, “an”, and “the” may refer to plural articles unless specifically stated otherwise. Thus, for example, references to a wet-blast nozzle may refer to one or more nozzles. Furthermore, the use of grammatical equivalents, such as “apparatus”, “tool”, or “device”, is not meant to imply differences among these terms unless specifically indicated.

The present invention provides an apparatus 1 for hard surface edge cleaning, particularly suitable for use by cleaning professionals to produce thorough and complete cleaning of various hard surfaces 2, such as tile and grout, natural stone, and concrete. The hard surface edge cleaning apparatus 1 can efficiently clean the edges of hard surfaces 2 abutting a barrier, such as a vertical wall. For convenience in this description, the flooring and counter-top materials will all be referred to collectively as “hard surface” 2. Any differences among the specific cleaning details for each of the hard surface 2 will be well understood by those skilled in the art, and in any event those differences are not critical for the description of the present invention.

The hard surface edge cleaning apparatus 1 of the present invention allows cleaning within ⅛-¼ inches from a barrier, such as a wall, baseboards, and an abutting barrier that meets with the hard surface 2 being cleaned. The edge cleaning apparatus 1 is also suitable for cleaning a hard surface 2 abutting a surface that should not be subjected to the hard surface cleaning processes or chemicals. For example, a hard surface floor 2 is abutted by a carpeted floor. Another example of such a surface is a medium density fiberboard (“MDF”) baseboard, or similar fabricated baseboard and wall, which have become quite prevalent in current construction of housing. The current hard surface cleaning devices that are specifically designed for tile, grout, and natural stone cleaning often cause damage to these baseboards when allow to come in contact with the baseboards. This has made the cleaning process of a hard surface 2, especially the edges, much more tedious and time consuming than in the past.

The hard surface edge cleaning apparatus 1 of the present invention is advantageous over the current commercial surface cleaning devices. The edge cleaning apparatus 1 is able to clean a hard surface 2 and its edges at a linear speed of up to 60 feet per minute, which is significantly higher than the current maximum speed of 2-3 feet per minute due to the restraint of the manual edge cleaning. Additionally, the cleaning apparatus 1 of the present invention also avoids causing damages to various baseboards and surfaces, thus substantially reducing the time and liabilities when cleaning edges adjacent to carpeting, baseboards, and the like.

The hard surface edge cleaning apparatus 1 of the present invention comprises a vacuum cleaning head 10, which comprises a vacuum chamber 102 having a bottom opening 104 to be engaged with a hard surface 2 to be cleaned, at least one wet-blast nozzle 101 positioned inside of the vacuum chamber 102, and a vacuum port 103 on the rear wall 106 of the vacuum chamber 102, which is connected to a vacuum system 81 via a vacuum tube 20 As used herein, the term “vacuum system” refers to a reduced pressure system. Suitable reduced pressure systems 81 include, but are not limited to, truck-mounted or portable equipment. A non-limiting example of a wet-blast nozzle 101 is turbo nozzle, such as zero-degree turbo nozzle, which provides a 360 degree rotating stream pattern.

In one aspect, the hard surface edge cleaning apparatus 1 has a gasket 107 around the lip 108 of the cleaning head 10 to maintain a sufficient seal with the hard surface 2 to prevent significant liquid leakage around the cleaning head 10 and to allow the vacuum suction or exhaust to remove the used liquid and collected floor soil to be effectively removed from the interior of the cleaning head 10 and conveyed to a collection tank for disposal. The gasket 107 may be made of any convenient elastomeric material such as rubber or elastomeric polymer.

As an alternative to a sealing gasket 107, the hard surface edge cleaning apparatus 1 may also utilize a thin brush 105 that is mounted at the front wall 111 and rear wall 112 of the cleaning path and/or completely around the cleaning head 10, thus allowing further agitation of the surface soiling and increasing the efficiency of surface soiling removing.

The invention is designed to have a vacuum port 103 attached to the rear wall 112 of the cleaning head 10 to recover cleaning solution. The cleaning solution travels through a hollow handle, such as those made of stainless steel to prevent corrosion, where it is attached to a vacuum hose 81, which is connected to a vacuum source 80 and holding tank of either truck mounted or portable cleaning equipment. Those skilled in the art will also easily identify fabrication materials other than stainless steel which will be suitable for various components of the invention based on the particular application of interest and the costs involved; some other metal alloys, composite materials, and engineering plastics are likely to be suitable.

The suitable wet-blast nozzles 101 are rotating nozzles which use centrifugal force to produce a strong impact and a spray pattern. The nozzle rotates a powerful, zero degree spray pattern in a circular motion to break down tough dirt and grime. By spinning the discharge cleaning solution, the spray adds additional scrubbing ability to the cleaning process. The spray pattern may cover area of 4 to 8 inches wide, depending on a distance between the outlet of the nozzle and the surface being cleaned. The turbo nozzle may have a rotating pressure of about 20 to about 10,000, or about 100 to 3,000 psi.

This invention is different than existing patents for floor cleaning machines due to the shape of the head design, the brush feature, zero degree turbo nozzles, the 360 swirl angle of the water spray, and the handle design. All of the mentioned features allows for much more precise, efficient edge cleaning method. Existing products can not achieve such close to the edge cleaning, since their head designs and spray patterns cannot produce the proper cleaning paths to do edge and detail cleaning.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The hard surface edge cleaning apparatus of the present invention is best understood by reference to the drawings of the figures. Any dimensions stated herein are for exemplary purposes only and are not presented as limitations for the present invention. The dimensions of the hard surface edge cleaning apparatus can be varied according to a particular application. Those skilled in the art will readily recognize the optimum dimensions for the particular project at hand.

FIG. 1 illustrates the overall view of the cleaning head 10 of the hard surface edge cleaning apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Indicated at 101 is a zero degree turbo nozzle with a height of about 2 to 4 inches. The turbo nozzles 101 suitable for use the present invention are these types which are typically used in commercial high pressure power washers. Indicated at 105 is a brush ring with a row width of ⅛ to ¼ inches and a bristle height of ¼ to ½ inches. The brush ring 105 typically is very stiff nylon or natural material bristle brush. This brush ring 105 covers 1-4, 2-4, or 3-4 sides of the cleaning head 10 of the hard surface edge cleaning apparatus 1. Indicated at 106 is an L-bracket 106 to secure the turbo nozzle 101 to the cleaning head 10 of the hard surface edge cleaning apparatus 1 and/or the vacuum/handle tube 20. The L-bracket 106 can be made from various materials, such as stainless steel. The wet-blast nozzle 101 can be secured via the L-bracket 106 by welding, clamping, screwing or the like. Indicated at 20 is a vacuum tube having a width of about 2 to about 3 inches, through which the used cleaning solution and removed soil and dirt is extracted by vacuum. The vacuum tube 20 is approximately 36′ long and may also serves as the mounting for a handle assembly 40. The vacuum tube 20 may be made from various materials, such as stainless steel.

FIG. 2 is a centerline side view of the cleaning head 10 of the hard surface edge cleaning apparatus 1. Indicated at 30 is the high pressure tubing that is connected to a cleaning equipment 80, such as a portable or truck-mounted cleaning equipment, which allows the flow of cleaning solution to the wet-blast nozzle 101. The high pressure tubing 30 is attached to the inlet 161 of the zero degree turbo nozzle 101 to facilitate cleaning; the wet-blast nozzle 101 is secured by the L bracket 106. Illustrated at 170 is the circular pattern of the sprayed cleaning solution by the wet-blast nozzle 101 directed at the floor 2. The wet-blast nozzle 101 ejects a high pressure rotating liquid stream in a circular pattern inside the cleaning chamber 102 of the cleaning head 10. The liquid pressure of the high pressure stream can be activated by a conventional manual pressure controller 50 (illustrated in FIG. 4) mounted usually on the top of the cleaning head 10, the vacuum tubing 20 or the handle 40, depending mainly upon the dimension of the hard surface edge cleaning apparatus 1. In combination with the brush ring 105, this high pressure stream provides additional cleaning capability and minimizes the amount of cleaning solution sprayed onto surfaces that should not be exposed to such solution, i.e., baseboards and walls, etc.

FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view of the cleaning head 10 of the hard surface edge cleaning apparatus 1. Illustrated at 105 is a bristle brush ring which is inset, clipped, or screwed into place for ease of replacement. The vacuum chamber 102 has a front wall 111, a rear wall 112, and two side walls (113 and 114). The sides of the brush 105 attached to the two sidewalls are straight and the sides attached to the front and back are curved to follow the shape of the cleaning head 10, although these shapes may be varied if working conditions demand. Illustrated at 170 is the circular pattern of the wet-blast stream from the wet-blast nozzle 101 inside the vacuum chamber 102. Illustrated at 103 is the vacuum port where the vacuum tube 20 is attached to the cleaning head 10 of the hard surface edge cleaning apparatus 1 for extracting the cleaning solution from the hard surface 2 to a holding recovery tank 801 that may be mounted to the portable or truck-mounted equipment 80.

FIG. 4 is an overall side view of the hard surface edge cleaning apparatus 1 of the present invention. Illustrated at 50 is the pressure control valve to regulate the flow of pressured cleaning solution. It may be attached to the stainless steel tubing. In one exemplary configuration, the pressure control valve 50 is a simple on/of switch 501 and the pressure of the wet stream is adjusted at the remote truck-mounted or portable equipment 80. In another exemplary configuration, the pressure control valve 50 is an adjustable pressure control valve 502, which allow an operator to adjust the pressure of wet stream locally. Illustrated at 60 is a high pressure quick disconnect fitting which allows for fast and easy connection and disconnection of the high pressure tubing 30 that facilitates the flow of wet cleaning solution. Illustrated at 30 is the high pressure tubing that cleaning solution flows through from the truck mounted or portable equipment solution tank 80 to the wet-blast nozzle 101.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the top of the hard surface edge cleaning apparatus 1, showing the trigger 50, the quick disconnect fitting 60, and the vacuum tube 20, and a handle 401 to allow the operator to have a good control of the device 1. The handle 401 may be mounted to the vacuum tube 20 (wand) with one or more clips 402 so that the height can be readily adjusted to optimize comfort and ease of use by the operator. It is highly desirable that the entire handle 401 and its mounting assembly 402 are not wider than the cleaning head 10 of the hard surface edge cleaning apparatus 1 to avoid bumping or scratching the wall.

FIGS. 6, 7, and 8 illustrate an alternative embodiment of the cleaning head 10 of the hard surface edge cleaning apparatus 1, which is suitable for cleaning a wider area of a hard surface adjacent to an edge or wall. This is particularly suitable for residential applications. FIG. 6 is a bottom plan view. FIGS. 7 and 9 are a front elevation view with partially cut away and a top plan view, respectively. These figures illustrate that the cleaning head 10 comprises four wet-blast nozzles 101, each of which produces its own wet-blast stream pattern 170. The nozzles 101 are connected via a high pressure manifold 110 to distribute the cleaning solution evenly to the different nozzles 101. Typically there are 2-6 or 3-5 nozzles 101. The width of the cleaning head 10 and any brush ring 105 are dimensioned to accommodate the number of nozzles 101 present. The other components of the device 1, vacuum tube 20, brush ring 105, handle 401, and controller 50, are essentially the same regardless of the number of nozzles 101 in the head 10.

FIGS. 9, 10, 11 illustrate yet another embodiment of the invention, in the form of a counter-top tool 3. This is similar to the edge tool 1, but is wider (usually about 4′ to 9″ in width). Generally, this counter-top device 3 will have only a single nozzle 101. Also, it does not have any long extended vacuum tube/wand 20 or liquid feed tube 30. FIG. 9 is a front elevation view. FIG. 10 is a bottom plan view and FIG. 11 us a side centerline elevation view. FIG. 10 shows the cleaning head 10 to have a generally “D” shape to provide a straight front side to facilitate cleaning along the back and sides of a counter-top. FIGS. 10 and 11 also show the handle 401 which the operator holds to guide the device 3. Used water/solution and dislodged soil are discharged through a vacuum port 103 on the back of the device 3. The pressure control 50 is similar to the one described hereinabove. A brush ring 105 may also be included.

FIG. 12 illustrate yet another embodiment f the present invention. The hard surface edge cleaning apparatus 1 further comprises an intermediate wall 190, which is substantially parallel to the rear wall 112 of the vacuum chamber 102. The intermediate wall 190 is mounted inside the vacuum chamber 102 with a space from the rear wall 112.

FIG. 13 illustrate still another embodiment f the present invention. The hard surface edge cleaning apparatus 1 may also comprises an inner housing 191, which has a front and rear wall, two straight sidewalls, a bottom opening, and a port for mounting the wet-blast nozzle 101. The rear wall of the inner housing 191 is substantially parallel to the rear wall 112 of the vacuum chamber 102. The inner housing 191 is mounted inside the vacuum chamber 102 so that there is a space between the rear wall of the inner housing and the rear wall of the vacuum chamber 102.

The examples set forth above are provided to give those of ordinary skill in the art with a complete disclosure and description of how to make and use the preferred embodiments of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the scope of what the inventors regard as their invention. Modifications of the above-described modes for carrying out the invention that are obvious to persons of skill in the art are intended to be within the scope of the following claims. All publications, patents, and patent applications cited in this specification are incorporated herein by reference as if each such publication, patent or patent application were specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated herein by reference. 

1. A cleaning head for hard surface edge cleaning, comprising a vacuum chamber having a front and rear wall, two straight sidewalls, and a bottom opening to be engaged with a hard surface to be cleaned; one or more wet-blast nozzles each having an inlet attached to a pressured cleaning solution supply line and an outlet positioned inside the vacuum chamber and directed toward the bottom opening of the vacuum chamber; and a vacuum port on the rear wall of the vacuum chamber.
 2. The cleaning head of claim 1 further comprising a sealing gasket having sealing capacity between the bottom opening of the vacuum chamber and the hard surface.
 3. The cleaning head of claim 2, wherein the sealing gasket is attached to the front wall, the rear wall, or a sidewall.
 4. The cleaning head of claim 1 further comprising a brush attached to the front wall, the rear wall, or a sidewall, downwards from the bottom opening to engage with the hard surface.
 5. The cleaning head of claim 1, wherein each sidewall has a width of no greater than about 6.4 mm.
 6. The cleaning head of claim 2, wherein the sealing gasket has a width of no greater than about 6.4 mm.
 7. The cleaning head of claim 2, wherein the brush has a row width of no greater than about 6.4 mm.
 8. The cleaning head of claim 1, wherein the wet-blast nozzle is a turbo nozzle.
 9. The cleaning head of claim 7, wherein the turbo nozzle has a rotating pressure of about 20 to about 10,000 psi.
 10. The cleaning head of claim 1 further comprising an intermediate wall substantially parallel to the rear wall of the vacuum chamber, wherein the intermediate wall is mounted inside the vacuum chamber with a space from the rear wall.
 11. The cleaning head of claim 1 further comprise a inner housing having a front and rear wall, two straight sidewalls, a bottom opening, and a port for mounting the wet-blast nozzle, wherein the rear wall of the inner housing is substantially parallel to the rear wall of the vacuum chamber and the inner housing is mounted inside the vacuum chamber so that there is a space between the rear wall of the inner housing and the rear wall of the vacuum chamber.
 12. The cleaning head of claim 1 comprising two or more wet-blast nozzles.
 13. The cleaning head of claim 12 further comprising a manifold, to which the wet-blast nozzles are attached.
 14. A hard surface edge cleaning apparatus comprising: a vacuum tube having a bottom end and a top end, wherein the top end is in communication with a vacuum system; and a cleaning head comprising: a vacuum chamber having a front and rear wall, two straight sidewalls, and a bottom opening to be engaged with a hard surface to be cleaned; one or more wet-blast nozzles each having an inlet attached to a pressured cleaning solution supply line and an outlet positioned inside the vacuum chamber and directed toward the bottom opening of the vacuum chamber; and a vacuum port on the rear wall of the vacuum chamber; wherein the vacuum tube is attached to the vacuum port of the vacuum chamber.
 15. The hard surface edge cleaning apparatus of claim 14 further comprising a pressured line for cleaning solution supply with a first end attached to the inlet of the wet-blast nozzle and the second end attached to a cleaning solution tank.
 16. The hard surface edge cleaning apparatus of claim 15 further comprising a pressure control valve to regulate the blast pressure of the wet-blast nozzle.
 17. The hard surface edge cleaning apparatus of claim 14 further comprising a handle assembly.
 18. The hard surface edge cleaning apparatus of claim 14 further comprising a mounting bracket for securing the nozzle to the apparatus.
 19. The hard surface edge cleaning apparatus of claim 18, wherein the mounting bracket is a L bracket. 